Disclaimer: I do not own Stargate Atlantis or the characters. This is set after Phantoms but before The Return Pt. 1! Song Lyrics: Waiting For Yesterday by 12 Stones.

Watch the sun steal Yesterday,
Hiding all emotion - far away.
Days spent wondering why this life is so cold,
And nothing ever changes.

Waiting For Tomorrow — I

October 13th, 21:00

"Is she gonna be all right?" John asked anxiously, jumping up from his chair as Carson walked out of the infirmary. He closed the door behind him, blocking everyone's view of Teyla, who was curled up in the bed. The doctor looked from one anxious face to another, finally saying slowly,

"Aye, lad, she's all right for now."

John fell back into his seat with a relived sigh. As he ran a hand through his messy hair, he said, "But?"

"But she's not doing well. Her body is shuttin' down slowly. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for her."

The four people in the room all stared at the fifth. Soon, Carson found himself under the cutting gazes of Colonel John Sheppard, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, Dr. Rodney McKay, and Ronon Dex. He sighed and grabbed a chair, pulling it loudly across the floor before he dropped into it. In his hands he held his chart, and in his eyes, all he held was truth.

"Her body is sacrificing parts of itself to keep her alive. It's shutting down."

"We got the point," John said. "But can you do something for her or not?"

"No, I can't."

John sighed in frustration and put his head in his hands.

"What were her symptoms, John? Was she sick? Tired?"

It was Elizabeth who spoke. She was clearly just as anxious to find a way to help as everyone else was.

"She was fine. We were sparing; she won two matches and I won one. I was walking her to her quarters and she said she didn't feel well. I guess it passed, because she told me she was fine. Then ... she just collapsed. It only took about two seconds for her fever to appear, and then I called Carson. Just one second she was fine, and the next she ... she was like she is now," he said hurriedly, as if he couldn't speak fast enough.

Carson nodded.

"I'm doing everythin' I can, and I've put her on a ventilator to limit the work her body has to do to breathe. Her fever is down, but I'm afraid all I can do for her is keep her comfortable."

"She's gonna die, huh?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks for that, Ronon. Could you try to be a little more positive?"

But everyone could hear the fear in his own voice. They all knew the answer to Ronon's question, but no one wanted to face the truth. Carson smiled sadly as he stood up and walked back inside.

"How long does she have?"

John's question stopped Carson in his tracks; he slowly turned around.

"I'd give her a day, two at most."

John nodded and stood up.

"Fine. Thanks, doc."

And he walked off.

No one bothered to go after him; they knew he would deal with it in his own way. Like everyone else, he didn't want to believe there was no hope; he wanted something to hold onto, and hope was the only thing that was offered to him. So he took it, even though he knew it was stupid to hope.

Hope never helped anyone.

So he just walked away; he'd be back.

24:19

Carson rubbed a hand over his sleepy eyes, reaching out and grabbing at his cup of coffee. When he accidentally hit it to the floor, he cursed silently and reached down to pick it up. A yawn followed him as he walked over to the coffee pot and refilled his cup after wiping up the spilled, light brown liquid. He was about to walk back to his computer when he heard movement from behind him. Frowning, he turned around. The only patient he had as of this moment was Teyla.

He began to move over to the bed that Teyla was in. He was sure it was nothing; maybe John had finally come back.

"Teyla?"

He reached out and moved the curtain aside. She was sleeping.

His frown grew and he reached out to rub the back of his neck as his eyes floated across the different machines that were reading the young woman's vital signs. Everything was the same.

Shrugging, he walked back over to his research. Nothing happened that was very eventful until almost an hour later when there was a soft knock on the door. Turning around, Carson was only slightly surprised to see John leaning casually at the doorway.

"Can I bother her for a bit?"

His voice was quiet as he spoke. Carson nodded and John did, too. Not another word was spoken as John moved from the wall by the door to lean up against the wall beside Teyla's bed. It seemed that just being by her side seemed to calm the young Colonel just a bit.

"She is gonna die, isn't she?"

"She's not-"

"You know that isn't true. She's more pale now, and I can understand those little lines on the machines as much as I pretend not to be able to, doc. She doesn't have long left, huh?"

It wasn't anger in his voice, or even sadness; his expression and his words held no emotion at all as emerald green eyes followed the pathway of the bouncing line on the heart monitor.

"I don't give up on anyone until they're gone, son," Carson said, a small laugh following his next words. "And even then, with God-knows-what in this city, I shouldn't even give up then. And you shouldn't either. She needs your help to pull through. She needs you, and everyone else, too."

John didn't speak. He just closed his eyes as he continued to lean up against the wall.

"They're all worried, you know, but they trust you," John began. "Rodney only went back to work studying that device we found because he trusts you. Elizabeth only went back to running the city, because she trusts you. And I trust you, too. Even if you can't help her, you'll make sure we all have time to say good-bye."

Carson smiled sadly. "I think your trust may be misplaced."

John shook his head as he pulled away from the wall. He walked over to where Carson sat and dropped into the free chair next to him.

"We all trust you, because you gave us a reason to. God knows there's nothing I want more than for Teyla to live right now, and if anyone can help her, it's you."

He turned back to the papers he held in his hand, a small smile on his face.

"Thank you."

John stood up and took the chair he was sitting in, walked over to Teyla's bedside, and dropped down into it once again. The sound of a pencil scratching against a paper and the occasional sound of random pieces of paper hitting into the wall as John formed them into airplanes and threw them were the only sounds that disrupted the silence. As John finally perched his feet on the edge of Teyla's bed and closed his eyes, he asked, turning his gaze back to the doctor behind him, "Do you think she'd hear me if I said something?"

"Aye, she might."

John nodded and turned back around, smirking up at the ceiling.

"That's good to know."

Another paper airplane hit into the wall, and despite one of his friends in the infirmary possibly dying, John was beginning to look bored.

"Ya know, Teyla, you need to wake up because I'm still practicing. I plan to kick your ass next time we spar, without you beating me two times first."

He smirked.

"Usually I'm the one in here dying, and you and Elizabeth and Rodney are the ones sitting here, trying to be a good friend while you're really bored. What am I waiting for? Am I waiting for you to die?" He paused and threw another airplane at the wall; it missed the trash can, his target, by several feet; it was the first time he'd missed. "You're not supposed to be the one laying here. It's supposed to be me, because I'm the one who always runs into situations without thinking them through."

A small laugh.

"I would never admit that if you were staring me in the eye, so treasure the memory of me admitting my stupidity."

Carson couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he watched John out of the corner of his eye. Another airplane was formed, and the doctor was beginning to wonder what reports had undergone the wrath of John's boredom.

As if the Colonel had read his thoughts, John frowned at the paper in his hand.

"Doc ... I don't suppose these are important?"

Another plane hit the wall as John reached out and touched Teyla's hand; it seemed cold. He let his fingers dance over her own as he sighed.

"No, I don't suppose," Carson said, smiling, as he realized that John Sheppard's airplanes weren't expressing his boredom; they were expressing his frustration at not being able to do a single thing for his friend except watch as she slowly died.

"Hey ... doc, remember how I said I could understand these heart monitors? Um ... well, it changed."

Carson jumped up from his chair as soon as the words had left John's mouth. He ran over to John's side and started quickly checking Teyla's vital signs. When he turned to look at the worried Colonel beside him, a look of confusion crossed his face.

"This can't be possible."

"Hey, I was turning into a bug once upon a time. Anything is possible. What's wrong with Teyla?"

"That's just it! Nothing!"

John looked very confused as he leaned back against the wall.

"OK, explain that to me."

"I can't," was Carson's simple reply. "But her vitals are back to normal. Completely. It's as if nothing ever even happened in the first place. This is a bloody miracle!"

John smirked. "Is she gonna wake up?"

There was no reply from the doctor, but a small movement coming from the bed that Teyla was laying in was answer enough.

"Woah ... " John walked over and looked down at her. He jumped back when her eyes snapped open and let out a surprised breath as he stared into her chocolate brown eyes.

"Hey, Teyla ... good to ... ah, see ya?"

She looked up at him, confused, as Carson walked over.

"Teyla, love, I need to remove that tube from your mouth. Could you lay back?"

A million emotions overwhelmed both men as Carson slowly told Teyla to take in a deep breath and let it out as soon as he told her to. The tube came out easily and sent Teyla into a coughing fit. John handed her a cup of water from the bedside table.

"Welcome back, Teyla. You gave us a scare."

"What... happened?" Her voice was scratchy, but not something unexpected.

"Long story."

They were silent for a minute as Carson poked and prodded Teyla's body, trying to find out what in the world had just happened. She was strangely quiet the whole time, and John didn't know what to do; just minutes ago, Teyla had been dying, and no she looked as if she had just woken up from a nap, and nothing more.

Her eyes slowly slipped closed and she raised a hand to her forehead, taking a deep breath in. Carson, who was overreacting to every little thing, was by her side in seconds.

"Teyla, what's wrong?"

"My head ... it hurts."

No sooner had she spoken the words than the room was filled with a loud, shrill scream. John bolted to Teyla's side as her screams of pain echoed throughout the halls.

"Teyla!"

Suddenly, the screaming stopped, but Teyla's body was covered in a thin layer of sweat and her hands shook. Her eyes, still closed, snapped open suddenly and John gasped, backing up a step. The green line he had seen in them before was nothing compared to what he was seeing now. It seemed ad though the green in her eyes had completely taken over the chocolate brown color that had previously shone with emotion.

Both men were stunned as John tapped his radio.

"Um ... Elizabeth, we need you to come down to the infirmary. Like right now would be good."

It was when Teyla moved out of the bed, the IV in her arm seeping blood as it was pulled out roughly, that her breathing became hard. Before anyone could react, another shrill scream filled the room, but this one sounded more familiar than the last; it sounded like a Wraith.

In seconds flat, Teyla had stolen John's pistol from the holster on his belt and shot him twice through the chest.

—TBC—

Please Review!